Mick Colageo — 5 Things We Learned: Canadiens a step ahead

Wednesday

May 7, 2014 at 12:01 AM

The Montreal Canadiens hit the Bell Centre ice a step ahead of the visiting Boston Bruins and held on late to win Game 3 of their best-of-seven, second-round playoff series, 4-2. Here are five things we learned from Tuesday's game:

The Montreal Canadiens hit the Bell Centre ice a step ahead of the visiting Boston Bruins and held on late to win Game 3 of their best-of-seven, second-round playoff series, 4-2. Here are five things we learned from Tuesday's game:

TEAM CAN GRIND OUT

Regardless of whether the Bruins bail themselves out of this 2-1 series hole, they clearly miss the sudden and spectacular impact that Nathan Horton and Tyler Seguin brought to their lineup. Jarome Iginla and Reilly Smith are talented players, but one is too old and the other too young — and Loui Eriksson just too different — to change a game by themselves. The Bruins were right to move on after Seguin's no-show in 2013, but there's no getting around the dimensional limits these personnel changes put on their attack. Montreal's superior opportunism adds pressure for Tuukka Rask to match the series Carey Price is having, but this is more about what's happening across the 166 feet between their creases, where Montreal has simply been the quicker team, mentally when not physically. The Bruins work hard for their chances, the Canadiens work smart for theirs.

Boston's captain may be 6-foot-9 and the biggest player in professional hockey history, but he is comprised of human tissue and the Bruins dodged a fat bullet when their captain got slashed on the first shift of the game — no call — and left the rink for the locker room to be examined. He was not heard from again until the 6:22 mark of the first period. Credit to the Bruins for putting together consecutive strong shifts in Chara's absence, but they made just enough mistakes through the course of the game to lose. The one player the Bruins absolutely cannot do without is Chara, not only because of what he brings but because the Bruins can stand no more key losses on the blue line and still be the Cup contender we know. Getting back to Stanley is already a reach with Dennis Seidenberg's knee injury compounding the summer departure of Andrew Ference. Lose Big Z and it's over, plain and simple.

PART IN HOW THE NHL VIEWS HITS

P.K. Subban's hit on Reilly Smith in the first period that gave the Bruins their first man advantage of Game 3 was no more or less a hockey play than the Kyle McLaren hit on Richard Zednik that went so terribly wrong during garbage time of Game 4 of the team's 2002 series in the same building. Coincidentally, Michel Therrien was coach of the Canadiens at the time as well, but — after seeing Zednik removed on a stretcher — Therrien threatened retaliation on Boston's best players during his post-game press conference. McLaren was suspended for the series, which Montreal won in six games. Subban's reckless play had only minor repercussion because Smith escaped injury. Ironically, teammate Thomas Vanek missed the rest of the period from the resultant collision. Subban got two minutes in the box over which he slammed down his stick in protest.

When you have a tremendous young talent like Hamilton in the lineup, you live with the growing pains. Hamilton skated 21:47 of Game 3, second on the Bruins only to Chara's 24:33. But there are only so many errors borne of inexperience that a team can survive, and one that Hamilton made cost the Bruins dearly. As Subban's first-period penalty for "roughing" Smith expired, Montreal center Lars Eller had emerged from a puck scramble in the Canadiens' zone and was crossing center when Hamilton, who is still 20 years old, showed his age when he meandered across from his side of the ice. Eller, who was already covered, spotted Subban bolting out of the penalty box and delivered a perfect pass. Subban beat Rask on the breakaway to make it a 2-0 game and ignite a frenzy at the Bell Centre.

BETTER THAN HE LOOKS

The debate — Meszaros vs. Matt Bartkowski (aka. slow vs. fast, veteran vs. rookie, rental vs. house hand) — rages on, but the journeyman made three statement plays, two of them positive ones. Late in the first period, a dangerous puck floated into the defensive circle with Meszaros and big winger Max Pacioretty in pursuit. Already trailing 2-0 on the scoreboard, a third Montreal goal would have put Boston in a prohibitive hole. But Meszaros cut off the rangy 39-goal scorer, rendering the play a forgettable moment in an otherwise-tumultuous opening 20 minutes. Then a bad thing happened when Meszaros' shot from the left point was blocked by Mike Weaver, ending in a Dale Weise breakaway goal. Late in the game, Meszaros did what he did in Game 2, coming up with a key assist on Iginla's goal that temporarily made it a one-goal game with Rask out of the net and 2:16 remaining in regulation time. Love him or not, expect to see the Slovak back in the lineup on Thursday night.

Mick Colageo covers hockey for The Standard-Times. Contact him at mcolageo@s-t.com, visit Rink Rap at blogs.southcoasttoday.com/bruins and follow on Twitter @MickColageo.